The Titanium Titans
by damian111
Summary: The adventures of the titanium titans. Rated T for Violence, Gore and some language
1. The Tyrant of the snow

I lay in the snow, breathing heavily. I sucked in the air and blew it out, watching the steam curl towards the Aurora Borealis which reflected off my injector cannon's glass tank. The white was stained with crimson. A blango lay half submerged in the 3 foot deep snow. I was waiting for the slightest hint of movement. Something. Anything. The scratch across my belly was bleeding heavily. The Tigrex had launched at me, I had dodged just in time, but I was left with the cut as its teeth ripped across my skin, I was thrown like a ragdoll against the rock face. The Tigrex had sensed my other friends as it chased them across the range, I was left for dead. A blango had slowly wandered up, sensing a free meal. I put a bullet through its head before I passed out. And as I watched the sun rise over the peaks, I realised help wasn't coming.

I felt a surge of strength as the sun broke out of the clouds. I dragged myself up against the wall into a sitting position and rummaged breathlessly through my item bag. I couldn't feel the snow covering my face; I was too cold for that. I found a hot drink and as I supped, I felt the tingling sensation in my chest. I coughed up some blood across the snow. I had to get away; the Tigrex would be back for breakfast soon. I felt exhausted, wanting a ration or even a piece of raw meat I clawed my way through the snow, hoping the blango was still fresh. I carved it, skinned it and devoured the meat. It made me feel sick but I felt a surge of strength and I managed to haul myself up. I screamed in pain as the scars along my stomach pulled at the skin. I staggered down the summit to the next area, gathering herbs as I went. I felt stronger now. I had eaten half an Anteka and taken its pelt to wrap around me, my ceanataur armour didn't resist cold but I wasn't planning to be here this long. Down at the top of area 2 on my map, I found him. The body of my Sherpa. He lay in a screaming position with the lower half of his body mangled beyond recognition. I stumbled past him, taking his power juice as I went, I drank it greedily feeling the wondrous effects instantly, I climbed down the face and ran back to camp and waited for the elder dragon observation centre balloon to see me.


	2. The reflection of a hero

The beer tumbled down my chin as I tried to drink. I hadn't been functioning for 24 hours and my injury made me writhe in pain. The guild had put me off quests for three days, they couldn't afford much more, and a crisis was brewing in the mountains. The Tigrex was back. I had been trying to arrange a Sherpa through the mountains to carry my items but no one would go with me, not after the last time. I swilled the rest of the beer into my mouth and stood up. I wandered across the pokke centre, it was nothing like kokoto. That was where I grew up. I remember the blossom. I remember hunting my first Rathalos. That came at a price. My friend Dorgan had agreed to come with me. The stupid fool had taken a sword and shield; It bit him in half within twenty seconds of it seeing us. His blood and entrails hit my body as I fired a crag S into the beast's mouth. The objective had been cleared, that didn't matter anymore.

I couldn't live in kokoto anymore, not with the looks of disgust I got every time I walked down the road. So, I went to the guild. They seemed nice and supportive about what had happened, saying I wasn't the first and I wouldn't be the last. They offered me a post at a small mountain town called pokke, I would do quests for the guild and help the village repel any approaching monsters. The job came with a house and I got paid per quest. It had seemed fine until the village chief asked me to kill the approaching threat. The Tigrex. I opened the door and piggy trotted up expectedly. I dropped some scraps from the tavern into his bowl as he gave a disapproving snort.

For the next two days I slept solidly, my felynes bringing meals to my bed. The next day there was a banging at the door. I shook myself awake and answered it. "Yes?" I murmured, blinking in the harsh sunlight. An elderly old man spoke in an annoying slow pace "ummm…. We…. Need….a…. hunter…. For…. a….Giadrome…." I sighed slowly. "Why do you want me? I failed the last time" I said in a depressed tone. "Ummm….We….have….assembled….some….hunters….and need….you….to….lead….them". I peered behind him, some spotty teenagers wearing fur armour grinned gormlessly. I blinked. "No". The elderly man nodded and walked away. It seemed to him that he was becoming a guide. No, I can't be a guide; I'm 30 for Kirin's sake! I pulled on my ceanataur armour and walked down to the guild with a brisk pace. I opened the door and everyone sat in an awed silence. I walked across to the office where Lucy greeted me. "Zak, we have assembled some hunters, a group of five. We need you to lead them. You're going to the desert" she added in a warm tone. "To hunt what?" I asked bluntly observing her calm dace for signs of nervousness; she had taken a shine to me since I came to pokke. "A daimyo hermitaur". I nodded calmly, I could manage that. A daimyo hermitaur was no problem. "Who is in the team?" I looked around but there was no one except me and Lucy in the office. "You'll meet them at camp, they're already there" she said, I nodded and headed onto the road that took me to my destiny.


	3. Desert Disaster

As I approached the border, I realised something was wrong, I ran towards the wall to see a large hole in it, people were rushing round. I approached Tiberus, the head guardsman "what happened?" I asked, shocked by the size of the breach. Tiberus answered in a confident way that inspired a feeling of safety, "Diablos, it's fine, we captured it". I peered through the gap and sure enough lay a large beast with two horns, its tongue lolling as it slept. "Can I come through? I need to get to camp" Tiberus laughed heartily "yes; you're hunting that hermitaur aren't you?" I nodded

"Yes, did the others come past here?" He laughed again, but this was much less hearty than before "they came just before the Diablos, it seems everything is going wild" his voice trailed off as he stared at the ground behind me. He looked up again, "there's something coming Zak, I don't know what, neither do the wyverns but we all know it's coming". I nodded sagely and carried on down the path; Tiberus rushed to the hut and ordered his colleagues to repair the wall. The camp was atop a rocky crevice that overlooked the desert plains. It was a bleak but somehow beautiful sight. The camp came into view as I climbed up the steep slope.

A hand reached out and hauled me up as I reached the top. I looked up to see a man about my age beaming at me. "You must be Zak, I'm Arran" I smiled at him and brushed the dust off my armour.

"Yes, I am, are the rest of the team here yet? We need to set off before noon" Arran nodded excitedly. "Yeah, they're all here, let me introduce you". He pointed at a girl again about the same age as me and said "that's Meg, she uses a devil slicer, and she's killed a Kushala Daora! And then there's Conan, he's our desert guide. He uses a sword and shield. Then finally Simeon, he uses a hammer, that's the team". I waved to them and they all nodded back. I went to the item box and fished out all that was left. I loaded my gun with thunder bullets and filled the pressure case with carbon dioxide. "Right, let's kill this thing".

We found its trail in area 5, he was headed to 8. We sprinted to the area and saw the giant crab. Its glistening wet body looked out of place in the desert's harshness, its shell; a cracked Monoblos skull seemed to stare knowingly at us. It turned round and saw us, I threw down a smoke bomb and headed for the ledge, I rushed through the thick fog and the blistering heat. I climbed onto the ledge and turned round, emptying five thunder bullets into the thing's face. Arran joined me on the ledge and started to play the notes on his bone horn+, Simeon charged his hammer and unleashed a flurry of blows alongside Meg who was hacking the legs. Conan had done his job and turned to leave. The hermitaur saw he had his weapon sheathed and went for him. I screamed to him but it was two late, the thing cut him in two as he howled in pain, trying to stuff his guts back in, his hands were covered in quickly drying blood as he cried. Eventually the crab finished with his lower half, grabbed the remaining half of Conan and threw him into his mouth. A deathly silence fell over the area. I reloaded and carried on firing, the team turned and looked at me, then realised we were still in battle. We carried on until it was dead. No one wanted to carve it; we knew what would fall out if we did. I dropped down and sliced open its stomach, sure enough, the body of Conan fell onto the floor, covered in acid. We cleared it off and I carried him to the canyon. "Conan Arelius was a good man. Let it be known that he died honourably" with that I threw him into the bottomless blackness of the canyon, it seemed cruel at first, but thinking about it know, I realise that the scavengers couldn't have got to him down there. We headed back in silence, through the plains. We drew our weapons as we headed into a pass. Genprey were known to lurk here. We walked cautiously, looking everywhere. A pile of sand was kicked up behind us as a Gendrome raced towards us, we all leapt, but the thing was too fast for Simeon, it bit him as he fell to the floor paralysed. I shot the raptor through the head as it crippled and fell. Simeon was jerking violently on the floor. I picked him up, swung him over my shoulders and we ran back to camp.


	4. Broken Mirrors

I lay Simeon on the bed as he writhed in pain, paralysed. It was hard to watch as he silently screamed but I had to administer a bandage before the bleeding became too great. I dragged his hammer off his back and turned him over. I wound the bandage around his arm, taking great care not to make mistakes. I finished applying the bandage and stood up, dust from the desert was streaked across Megan's face in uneven strokes while Arran had gone to get water, and we waited for four hours until Simeon woke up. "How long was I out?" he asked in an apologetic way, I replied calmly "four hours". He seemed surprised at this, not to mention confused. We gave it another half an hour before setting off back to the guild. We passed the border at approximately 1 o'clock in the morning, the Diablos and Tiberus were gone.

Eventually at 3 o'clock in the afternoon we arrived back at Pokke. Lucy was waiting at the door. "I heard about Conan, I'm so sorry Zak" I nodded politely. "I know this might not be the best time but I need you to fill in a death report and I need proof that you killed the monster". I nodded again and brought a sack off my shoulder, I tipped it upside down and the head of the beast fell out, Lucy maintained a calm face even as the purple blood splattered across the floor. Arran walked out towards the inn as I followed him. "Zak, do you think that we could have done more to help Conan?" he asked in a genuinely thoughtful way. I replied with an air of confidence, "He had his sword away; it was on him within minutes. We couldn't have done anything."Megan walked past and greeted the two followed by a secretive Simeon who merely nodded in their direction.

Megan walked up to her room in the inn. She unlocked the door and stepped in, sighing. Simeon stood in the doorway before she could close it. "Do you want to go for a drink?" he asked in a husky voice. Megan walked up to him sensually, she got close to him and placed a dainty finger on his chest, breathing heavily Simeon stepped back and Megan abruptly said "no, you creep" and slammed the door in his face. I and Arran convulsed in laughter, his face turning a shade of purple I never even knew existed. Simeon stormed past, but with a slight grin on his face.


	5. The Shadow Approaches Part 1

The mist clung to the ground in the barren confines of the fortress, a still and uneasy silence lay as thick as the dense fog. Something was coming. Something immense. A lonely guardsman stood at the entrance, watching the haze. The shadows seemed to shift and turn creating abstract and surreal shapes. But there was something different about the shapes today. Something came out of the shadows, unnoticeable at first but clear enough. The guardsman saw the thing and ran to the kelbi, riding to the nearest outpost.

Over the last month we had killed a Diablos, a Rathian, a Tigrex and a Rathalos. All successfully and without death. We returned to the guild hall after gathering wyvern eggs from the jungle, the Rathian had tried to stop us but Arran had distracted it using his horn. We got back to the guild hall to find Lucy standing at the doorway, she looked worried. "Zak, we need you to go to the fortress, there's a Lao Shan Lung approaching". I was startled by this request, yes we had killed quite a few wyverns but, this was too much. I looked at my team for support, they nodded nervously. "Yes, we'll do it!" Lucy looked even more worried, she nodded and we left to our accommodation.

The next morning everyone met in the town square, people were looking out of windows and watching us leave. We saddled up our blue Kut Ku's and bought our supplies, getting up on the Kut Ku felt strange as I had never flown a wyvern before, but we needed to get to the fortress fast and we kicked off the ground and soared upwards.


	6. The Shadow Approaches Part 2

20 years before…

Tiberus stood on the ledge of the cavern, eye level with the monster. Black mud swirled mysteriously around his legs as he shifted on the spot. "Beautiful, isn't he?" the commander asked, a sense of pride in his voice. "I'm not sure we should be keeping it here sir, what if it escapes?" Tiberus asked with genuine fear in his voice. "I want to talk to you about that, not many people know about project Sierra and if anything happened it would be disastrous for all involved. I need you to make sure the chains are secure before you get sent to the border post in the desert" The commander replied. Tiberus looked at the beast and then nodded. The commander walked away and Tiberus climbed down into the basin of the cavern. He got the locking mechanisms from the box and secured them on, he went round each leg but when he reached the fourth his friend ran in excitedly. "Tiberus, the coach for the desert is about to leave!" he shouted. Tiberus ran out of the cavern excitedly forgetting to fix the last mechanism, after a week the beast had gotten free but it didn't want to strike yet. It was waiting.

We soared through the skies, feeling the harsh wind blowing against our faces. It felt good after the heat of the desert, the Kut-Ku's squawked heartily at the prospect of stretching their wings after being in the stable so long. I patted the bird's back as it cooed appreciatively, stretching its neck forward. They were docile and friendly animals when tamed with a calm temperament and a willingness to help humans. We lowered the birds down as we saw the fortress coming into view; its great black walls looked forbidding in this thick fog. As the landing field came into view we saw the Rathalos squadron preparing for battle, saddling up their mighty steeds. We came down and landed with a thud, the stewards attended to the Kut Ku's immediately as the cawed goodbye to us. We walked over to a nervous soldier. He saluted us, my service in the war had not gone unnoticed, even though I resigned, and my status of aviation sergeant still lasted. "At ease, what's the situation?" I asked, the soldier must have been about 19, he hadn't expected anything like this. He looked like he had shit himself, twice. "Ummm…we…ahhhhh…Lao, first gate" he stammered, I nodded thanks and he saluted again. Another soldier, just as nervous ran up to me "sir, we've prepared your Rathalos" he said. I smiled "thank you private, tell the rest I'll be there shortly". He nodded and scurried off into the forbidding fog. I turned to my team, "this is where I have to leave you, but I'll be in the skies over the main path to the wall". The team nodded solemnly and walked off into the mist, it engulfed them slowly. I turned back and saw the Rathalos squad waiting patiently for me. They had prepared me their best fighter. The silver Rathalos. I smiled and mounted the beast.

Arran walked forward, heading for the command post. He barged in, "how far away is the Lao?" he asked authoritatively. A Commander turned to him "who are you" he asked in a rude tone, wanting to claim his authority back. "I was sent here from the guild to help, where is the Lao? I am with aviation sergeant Zak Delong" Arran shouted, standing his ground. The commander looked shocked. He stuttered "two miles north". Arran nodded and left, Megan and Simeon waited for him outside, he told them what he knew. "The Lao is two miles north of here, the soldiers are manning the defence towers. We should go to the north face and wait for it; we will be helping the infantry go for the legs, making it fall over. Zak will be in the skies with the Rathalos squad attacking the face." The other two nodded, following Arran. Simeon said "my father will be with us, I haven't seen him in ages", he seemed happy but Arran looked troubled when Simeon said this he turned to Simeon and said in a warning tone "don't get distracted, if he gets hurt we must carry on". Simeon nodded and carried on walking, eventually they reached the north face where Simeon's father was waiting. "Simeon, my son! How long has it been, a year?" he asked as he embraced his son, Simeon smiled and said "I've missed you father, it will be an honour to stand beside you in the heat of battle". His father smiled and nodded. Then, something big came out of the mist, the ground shook as debris fell off the high cliffs and his father turned towards the shape. "That's not a Lao Shan Lung".

To Be concluded…


	7. The Shadow Approaches Part 3

Once again I was in the air, soaring around the fortress grounds, we could see tiny swarms of soldiers gathering in the pass, and boulders teetered unsteadily as the ground rumbled. I swooped down quickly, avoiding a brick tower and landed next to the battalion, I slid off the Rathalos' back and walked up to the general, saluted as he did and asked him of the current situation. "How far is it, general?" He replied slowly,

"Five metres from the gate, we are ready to fire at command sir". I nodded and walked back to the squad "Okay, five metres to the north wall they have gunners at the ready. I need supporting left flank with a right attack formation, are we clear?" the team nodded and I re-mounted and kicked off.

The wind made a ghastly whistling sound which seemed to mock the three on the ground, Arran threw a rock at the north face and sighed. The marshy ground seemed to swell and sink beneath there feet as the near black fog cloaked the path of the beast. "I can't believe it isn't a Lao, we have to fight a-" Arran said but couldn't finish as he was interrupted by a large crash and some screams. It was here. The Shen Gaoren was here. Arran grabbed his wyvern blade 'fall' and stood up quickly, Megan turned to him "we have to go for the legs, it's the only way!" she shouted as another crash was heard. Out of the mist, came a giant, bone leg. It shook the ground as it landed with an almighty bang. Another leg, equally as big came forward followed by two absurdly long antennas, then the claws came into view, great blue sharp claws that swung wildly as the Gaoren walked. It approached them with twitching eyes which were shadowed by the great Lao Shan Lung skull that hung off its back, acid gathering in the 'mouth'. The gunners on the bridge opened fire with flame bullets as it turned around so the skull faced the bridge. The men carried on firing as its mouth opened and the lump at the back began to turn green, they had no idea what was about to happen. The green light became so intense, some of the gunners covered there eyes until a large ball of acid burnt clean through the bridge, killing most of the gunners, the ones that survived the acid blast were killed by the fall. Simeon looked over in horror as he saw his father running across to help a platoon. The Gaoren saw him and went for him with a giant claw which cut Simeon's father in two. Simeon screamed and rushed over, Arran grabbed him and growled "don't make the same mistake that he did, remember what Zak said"

The commander strode up to the lieutenant with a brisk pace. "Make sure those hunters don't kill the Gaoren we need it!" The lieutenant looked startled at this request. "But sir, it's killing everyone!" The commander smiled at this and replied coldly, "men are dispensable, you know too much" and with that he slit the young mans throat. Blood splashed across the floor as the lieutenant slid down the wall, screaming silently. The commander walked out "If you want something doing, you've got to do it yourself.

I sailed down to through the mist as I saw the Gaoren, we had landed once again as someone had flagged us down to tell us it wasn't a Lao. The giant crab stood higher than the fortress itself. I dropped the Rathalos down onto the giant skull as it walked through the gap in the now broken bridge. The crab reached up, broke the Rathalos' neck with a loud crack and threw us far into the air. I had to cut myself loose from the harness or I would fall with the Rathalos into the ravine next to the fortress, I grabbed my carving knife and sawed as fast at I could, the tendons of the tough leather snapping as I hacked at it. Finally I cut loose and flew upwards, using my knife to stab a nearby rock face; it carved in, scratching the face before it bounced off. I tried again, this time it worked; I managed to get a hold and climbed slowly down the wall to see the crab approaching. I rolled under its belly and looked up. There, on it's under carapace I saw a mark, it was the symbol of the guild.

Simeon ran to his father when the Gaoren had passed, he lay with just a few muscles keeping him together. He whispered weakly. "Son, I…I love you". A tear streamed down Simeon's face "The guild can patch you back up, you'll be fine" Simeon whimpered unconfidently more tears streaming down their faces. His father managed a smile "I'm gone son, I welcome death. Make me proud boy, you always have done, goodbye." With that, he closed his eyes and smiled. He was dead. Simeon screamed towards the sky, howling in an anguish that was horrific. He sank onto his knees, bowed his head and wept. Arran came up after five minutes and said "Simeon, we have to go." Simeon turned and looked at him and nodded. He stood up and wiped his face, his eyes blood red from crying. They walked away from the body as it was engulfed by the mist.

I burst into the fortress hall, striding to the main chair where the commander sat, smirking. "Why is the guild endangering people's lives" I shouted, he sat up at this point. "War" he smiled, his chest lying in the fold between his finger and thumb. I looked at him. "You're paid by the guild to keep this quiet, I am arresting you under suspicion of treason to the King" The commander laughed and pulled a rapier from his belt, "Try and stop me, boy" he sneered as I drew my flying rapier. We clashed swords as he swung his at me and I blocked. He swung again as I rolled, "You can't run forever!" He shouted going for me again. We clashed swords once more as we approached the large window facing over the ravine. He kicked me as I stumbled out, smashing the glass. I grabbed his shirt to keep me from falling into the ominous black of the ravine; he backed away as I fell back through the window, slashing wildly as I came. I jumped to avoid a low swipe just as I recovered. He ran out the door as I followed swiftly, he crashed into a wall while trying to run, I skidded round the corner, not making the same mistake. Just then, the fortress shuddered. The Gaoren was here.

The Gaoren slowly marched into the main corner; the only thing blocking its path now was the main bridge. Arran signalled to the bowmen to fire, they rained a hail of arrows onto its face as it flinched wildly. Meg ran forward with her long sword, slashing at the legs. It was weak. Arran ran to help Megan, followed by Simeon. Simeon swung his hammer onto the ground, and then spun round aiming for the legs. He missed as the crab stood up and saw him. It raised a large blue claw as Megan pulled Simeon out of the way, it missed them both by inches, making them stumble as the ground shook, and Simeon pulled away and went for another attack.

We burst out onto the main bridge, still fighting wildly, ducking, dodging and weaving through each others attacks. He swung at me but missed; I tripped him up and grabbed him, hanging him by his collar over the bridge. "Where are the other wyverns?" I shouted over the noise of destruction, he laughed and spat in my face, smiling smugly "why would I tell you?" he asked. I wiped the saliva from my eye and smiled back. "Because it you don't, I drop you". His smug look turned to an expression of fear, and then back to smugness. "You will be hunted down, even if you spare me! So kill me hunter, kill me!" I held him, regarding his face and looked at the Gaoren. "Do lets" I said and kicked him the bridge's edge. He screamed all the way down until he landed with a sickening sound of breaking bones and squelching mud. Arran ran up to me with an anti-dragon bomb in his arms. The Gaoren was turning so his 'skull' faced the bridge. The mouth opened slowly to reveal a grey lump of flesh that got greener and greener as the blast built up. Arran jumped into the mouth and laid the anti dragon bomb there. I jumped down from the bridge to the floor and looked up; Arran wasn't going to make it. The light became intense, and just then, Arran swan dived out of the mouth as the blast shook the ground. The bomb exploded shortly after as we caught Arran in a large flag torn from the wall. The Gaoren continued as it marched through the broken bridge.

We ran through the tunnels, it was the quickest way to the main fortress wall. Every time the Gaoren took a step, the earth shuddered and clumps of dirt filled with worms landed on us. There was a claustrophobic feel to the tunnels with only a slow burning torch for light. We emerged on top of the main fortress wall, Arran and Megan dropped to the ground as I manned the ballista cannon. We waited for what seemed an hour for it to come, when it came towards us across the glistening grass. It saw us and let out an almighty howl, bringing down both its claws. I fired my ballistae at it, making it flinch. It got up and carried on walking. Arran fired the cannon but again it carried on walking. It seemed to mock us with its apparent invulnerability, then Megan unleashed the dragonator. Huge, metal spikes whirred out the wall at an unbelievably fast pace, knocking the Gaoren to its feet. It didn't get up. A great cheer rose from inside the fortress. But then, it stirred, unnoticeably at first but it stood up for one last attack, we couldn't take that much, it had already damaged the fort enough to let Ioprey from the nearby volcano in. It turned round to do another blast, we didn't have any bombs. The only way to stop it was to clog the skull. Simeon must have been thinking this through his thoughts of grief and stood up and saluted me. I saluted him back with the other two hunters. "It has been an honour, to work with all of you" he smiled. Megan began to cry, she was a strong hunter but the bond between us all was strong. Simeon hugged her tightly as he also began to cry. He shook mine and Arran's hands and then ran, he ran to the wall, stepped up and pushed off into the skull, it fired its blast but it backfired, sending a huge energy surge through the crab. It exploded, purple blood and entrails spraying everywhere. The Gaoren was dead.


	8. The End

I sat on the large soot stone; I removed my helmet and wiped my face, smearing dirt over it. Megan gathered some herbs and meandered over to us. The lava flowed slowly over the deformed rocks as bullfango sniffed at the dust. Melynx trawled the ground in search of felvine, looking around every so often. It was a peaceful scene. Arran stood up when Megan came over and handed over the small, brittle plants. I chewed on mine in remorse, thinking I should have stopped Simeon from ever jumping into the Gaoren's shell and stopping the assault.

We had been walking for three days, the guild was getting closer and we were running out of land, we couldn't get past the volcano and the boat had probably been burned by the guild when they arrived. Megan thumped the ground half heartedly. I went up to her and said "Megan, look, I know I made the wrong decision but I am really sorry for what I did". Megan turned round and looked at me, tears welling up. "Sorry? He's dead and all you can say is sorry?" She started to hit my chest, screaming in frustration. I took it; I deserved it until she had enough. "You can't let personal feelings get in the way". She slapped me across the face hard, I turned back. "We have been running for three days, there is a world wide guild coming after us because we are in on some twisted conspiracy and you are hitting me because you loved some screwed up boy!" She started to slap me but I grabbed her hand and for a moment I saw fear pass over her face, I let go and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

I walked past Arran as he stood up, a concerned look on his face "Zak, are you alright?" he asked, grabbing my arm, I pulled away and carried on walking towards the cave, Arran rushed over to Megan and started to comfort her, I stormed away when suddenly, A wrenching feeling in my gut made look down to see a sword sticking out of me, it was twisted out again as I groaned, falling to the ground. A guild knight was stood over me; an eye patch covered his left eye. Megan and Arran rushed over but were stopped by more knights. He picked me up and brought my face with in a millimetre of his and said "I am going to kill you last, so you can watch your friends die." Black spots danced around my eyes before I passed out.

I passed in and out of consciousness; black shadows crawled along my vision, enveloping me in a dazed sense of terror. I could see Megan crawl up to me at one point and force me to drink an ancient potion, it made me feel better. I felt myself being dragged over a gravel floor, the odd rock scraping my leg. Then an intense heat came in waves every minute or so, then my vision went black.

Now I wake up, slowly twisting my neck to the side. Megan is lying on the floor with Arran kneeling next to her, the man seems to stare into the lava but it is hard to tell, a tear trickles down my face as I lose conciousness for the last time.


	9. The Volcanic Shadow

The guild knight stared into the lava, he turned round slowly. "Put them in there" he said, pointing into the centre of the volcano. One of the thuggish men put a tree trunk leg forward before seeing a strange glint flash before him; he lowered his face to the ground observing a single zeni. More dropped from the ledge above him, he looked up, the penultimate thing to go through his brain was the word mother, and the last thing was a giant sword that made his head splatter against the rock wall. What first appeared to be rock slowly rose up and raised a slate grey arm while extending a fateful finger without looking, towards the other thug, he backed away fearfully before slipping over the ledge that loomed above the centre of the volcano, and he fell into the volcanic magma and was dissolved instantly. The guild knight grabbed his left gauntlet made of Gravios claw and put a sword across his throat. The hooded man stopped instantly, "I'd put that big sword down, boy" snarled the knight, just as he was about to drop it, I put a bullet through the back of the knights head.

"I'm back, baby".

I dragged myself to the wall as the grey robed figure walked towards me, head down, the peak of his hood covering his eyes revealing only a sly smile. I turned my pistol to him, cocking it again in a threatening fashion, he stopped. The smile seemed to twitch and then grew. He grabbed his Enforcer's Axe and raised it to the sky. "I don't think you're in a position to tell me what to do, I could kill you in an instant, but I have more dignity than to kill someone who has been stabbed. You need a healer, come with me". I regarded what I could see of his face, he seemed genuinely concerned. I looked at Megan who was still unconscious with bruises on her face, she had been beaten badly. "Fine" I said, it was the only option and things couldn't get much worse.

The mysterious figure led us to the plains at the bottom of the volcano; Arran was carrying Megan as I was too weak. He stopped and turned around "we're here" he said and pointed to a small cave. We walked over to the cave and peered in, a fire was going but its light was engulfed by the darkness, its warmth was also pointless in an extremely hot environment, therefore it must have been used for cooking something. Sure enough, sweet smells wafted from the cave, tempting us to go in further. A voice came from the cave, soothing and familiar. "Come in" the voice said. We did and the light cast over an old woman's face, which we recognized instantly.

The Pokke village chief. "I haven't seen you for a while, Zak". I started in surprise, looking at the old woman, she smiled. "I have been on the run from the guild too, you created some ripples Zak, and they tried to kill me too. Treshi told me about this cave, its warm and I have everything I need due to the fertile soil at the bottom of the volcano" I looked back out of the cave "I'm really sorry" I said remorsefully. She smiled again walking forward. "No need to be sorry, I'm going soon anyway my child" she said a strange haze across her face. "Going where" I asked, already knowing the real answer. She turned away again. "Away" she said simply and wandered back into the cave, the darkness swallowing her. That was the last time I saw her.

I walked back out, the shadowed man stood in the doorway. "She won't be coming out of there" he said in somber tone. I grabbed him, swung him around and pinned him against the wall.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!!!?" I screamed. He retained his calm and stared me in the eye, his hood had fallen off and I saw his face for the first time. His narrow face slanted down in a position of guilt shaded only by a glimmer of cool. "My name is Alexandor Volfring, second member of the Tracker Division of the Shadow Order. I tracked you until you were hit by guild forces, I saw you get a sword through your stomach." I stopped and then said "so why didn't you do anything then?" Alexandor smiled and slowly lifted his face "I needed to see what they would do". I let go of him, in shock of his apparent lack of sensitivity. "You unfeeling bastard" I snarled and punched him across the face. He fell down but did not break his cool, I went for him again but Arran held me back this time. "Don't, Zak. We haven't time!" I stopped and turned round to confront Arran. There were Guild men riding towards us on Kirins. A light flashed across the sky as we saw the Elder Dragon Observation Balloon signaling to us, we ran to it as it lowered down, Arran hauled Megan up onto the deck and climbed up after her.

Me and Alexandor ran but the balloon was taking off because it was receiving heavy fire from the guild men. They dropped a frayed rope from the deck, I tried to grab it but missed as it slipped over the canyon, and I kept running and leapt off the edge of the canyon, for a terrifying moment I thought I missed the rope, falling into the gaping mouth of the blackness I swung wildly about for a hold. I got it, the rope tugged my arm, ripping the muscle, Alexandor was still sprinting, the large sword on his back swinging as he leaped into the air, he wasn't going to make it. I reached my free hand out and he grabbed it, pulling me down, the force so great the flesh was torn from my hand, I screamed in pain. Alexandor climbed over me and held out his hand, I took it and he hauled me up onto the deck. "Truce?" he asked looking at me, I stared at him regarding him cool expression "Truce" I agreed as the balloon sailed over the volcano.


	10. Freefall

The balloon drifted slowly, the wind whipping my hair across my face. The view was ghoulish, yet beautiful in the twilight sky. The ancient tower stretched up out of the clouds, the pillars which adorned it seemed to have stood for a thousand lifetimes. I winced in pain as I wrapped the ligature round the raw flesh of my hand, bits of twine still violently pulled at the red skin. A remobra circled the tower before slowly swooping up to us. I put a bullet through its wing membrane sending it spiralling into the oblivion of the claw like clouds. Alexandor looked inquisitively at my item bag. I inquired as to why the bag drew his attention so much. He replied slowly, "Is that… what I think it is?" I looked over to the bag and saw the faint glowing of my most treasured possession. "Yes, it is." I said plainly, just waiting for some witty comeback. However, I got a completely different response. A vicious snarl. He looked at me with contempt and growled. "That doesn't belong t you, that is the property of the Shadow Order." I turned about to face him when I received a punch across the jaw, I staggered back grabbing the railing. Before I had time to retaliate an arrow hit the metal, just mere centimetres from where my hand was, another barrage of arrows flew towards us. I hit the deck, covering my head with my arms, I leopard crawled over to Megan and slapped her. She came too abruptly. She looked at me with a puzzled expression and she asked; "how long have I been out?" I looked at her and replied; "Two days … too long."

Then Alexandor made a leap for my bag, I stopped him by punching him in the mouth, I laughed. He cried out angrily "what was that for?" More arrows flew against us followed by a ballista. The fragile balloon shook as it descended to the tower roof. It landed with a thud, throwing us out of the metal ring. Alexandor took the axe from his back and brought it down diagonally with such tremendous force to my gut with the flat side of the blade, the roof collapsed. I fell through, bringing Alexandor with me. We fell through at an amazing speed, punching and kicking each other ferociously. Arran and Megan stared with nonplussed looks on their faces; they ran down the crumbled steps, jumping over the cracks in the worn stone. Remobra crawled across the walls, not wanting to expend energy on flying. Me and Alexandor were engaged in full battle swinging wildly for each other, he grabbed my chest plate and rammed me against the wall, burning white sparks flew off my metal plate as it came off, flying upwards.

Arran and Megan came to a large gap in the steps; they skidded to a halt, sending pebbles into the infinite cavern below. Arran took a few steps back, and ran for the gap. He leapt, and just made it, his forearms pulling him up, legs scrambling for some sort of hold. He grabbed a vine and hauled himself up. Meg started to run forward but stopped at the edge, afraid of the large jump. "I, I can't do it, I just can't" she cried, exasperated. "Come on" shouted Arran, holding out his arms. She shook her head violently, tears welling in her eyes. "I just can't" she cried again, Arran sighed a long drawn out sigh. "You can make it, Megan, it's a 2 foot gap" he shouted. Megan nodded and ran back to make the jump. She sprinted forward and leaped across the gap, Arran caught her and for a second they were in an embrace looking into each others eyes. The close moment was soon broken by the sound of two men whooshing past, down the large drop.

I punched Alexandor and kicked away from him. He grabbed my boot, I tried to shake him off but his grip was too tight. I kicked him in the face. Blood flew upwards from Alexandor's nose as he flew away from me, I let go of my item bag, scrabbling for it. Alexandor rushed towards me like an expert skydiver, slate cloak flapping behind him, he made for my item bag but I pulled him away. The bag was now flying of its own accord. We tangled together, punching, kicking and biting each other. The ground was approaching. Fast.

Arran and Megan ran across the scratched granite floor. Looking up at the pair who were rapidly approaching ground level. Arran tried to find something that could catch us but it was no use. We were going to die.

I screamed in terror, so did Alexandor. We stopped, looked at each other and carried on screaming. We smashed through the ground, and landed on something fluffy, the fluffy something collapsed and we fell onto a slithering mass of remobra. To make things worse, Alexandor's Enforcers axe was aimed towards and rushing down at an incredible speed, it landed just below my crotch and wedged itself into a remobras head. Alexandor stood up and gave me his hand, I took it and he hauled me up with surprising strength. "Truce?" he asked a big grin on his face as he picked up his sword. "Truce, for real" I said. And beamed back.


	11. A short stay

We walked through a dank and disused tunnel with cobwebs adorning the rotting wooden support beams that held the grey clay against whatever wall was behind it. The darkness was impenetrable; we could hardly see anything at all. Me and Alexandor had landed on a pile of fur, which hid a remobra nest; after we had killed the remobra Arran and Megan dropped down to see what had happened. Me and Alexandor led them around the pit and found the tunnel. The smell was awful, a mix of beer, sodding wet fur and rotting flesh. The air was so humid it was as if you could cut it with a knife. We saw a light, faint at first and then brighter as an outline of a door was clear. I reached my hand out slowly and turned the knob cautiously. It creaked open and warm candlelight flooded in. I blinked and looked around. It was an inn. We had come out behind the desk, the receptionist turned round with a surprised look on his face. He was a man who had seen some action, his weather beaten face was covered in scars and a large eye patch with a crest on it hid his right eye. His purple lips were broken, dead skin peeling upwards. "Ummm.... how 'bout a room each, on the house" he said nervously, his fingers drummed against the dark oak desk. There was enough ropey skin on the back of his hands to hang someone with. Not that the old man had any intention of doing so.

We walked up the creaky staircase; a man walked up to the desk and said in a hushed tone "about that tunnel, we really should..." that was all I heard before we got to our rooms. They had a water room each where we could bathe, wash and thanks to an invention by the receptionist, shower. This involved hot water being poured through a sieve from a bucket operated by a rope. The bedrooms were nice, for a 'merchants' inn. We knew what type of merchant they were but we didn't ask questions and they didn't charge. I lay on the bed; I hadn't slept on a bed for two weeks now. I embraced the cotton sheets, their warmth enveloping me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Alexandor awoke with a start; he needed to talk to Megan. He walked round to her room and knocked, the door opened with the light force of the knock. He looked in, no one was there. Just then Megan walked out from the shower in a light gown; her figure was a lot different to when she wore her armor. She uttered a quiet shriek, and slapped Alexandor across the face. He turned back and said "I need to talk to you, about Zak".

I woke up to the sound of pounding on the door downstairs. I crept down three of the steps, being careful not to make a sound. I peered into the lobby to see the receptionist trundle along the fur rug, he had been asleep. He opened the door and said "sorry, we're". He was interrupted as a bullet passed through his head; he fell down uttering a fragile, pathetic exclamation. A hooded figure stormed in, his black cloak open revealing a black tunic and skin tight trousers. His boots reflected the dim light as a brilliant shine. This was clearly a man of authority. Three more black hooded figures walked in behind him, creating an arrowhead formation. "Find them!" he barked, his voice was strong yet somehow calming. I carried on down the stairs, in my trousers and shirt I was defenseless, however he wasn't wearing armor either. I crept down a few more steps before I was spotted by one of the guards; he threw a throwing knife at my leg as I screamed in agony. I fell down the rest of the steps before pulling the knife out of my shin. A small amount of blood spurted across the Blangonga hide rug, its mouth opened in an endless roar. I jumped up ready for action, the leader took a heavy swing at me, and I dodged it easily. I grabbed the foil off the wall and spun round, he had drawn his rapier and we clashed swords. I kicked him away into the sitting area; he fell backwards over a large chair, tipping it up. He cried out in anger and stood up, throwing the chair out of his way, a slight grin adorned my face as he barged towards me. I lifted my pistol towards his face; he stopped about two centimeters from the barrels end. "That's not fair" he said in a deep, slightly amused growl. "Neither is coming to assassinate people in their sleep" I snarled. He seemed even more amused this time and said "you are a formidable foe; I would hate to be on the wrong side of you, my friend". I started towards him with the gun and said in a low tone "I think it's too late for that, you already are" and I fired my gun.

Nothing happened.

A still silence filled the room; I hadn't reloaded my pistol since I had been stabbed. "Ah" I said and using the element of surprise I ran back upstairs. I burst into Alexandor's room and yelled "THEREAREGUILDMENDOWNSTAIRS". He looked at me as if I had a straight jacket and ruffled hair. "What?" he asked, it was probably the only word he could manage. "There, are, guild, men, down, stairs" I said, using deliberate slowness. He sat up and said "Ah".

We woke up the other two and rushed along the corridor, passing other rooms with shady occupants. We heard the men coming behind us; a guest walked in front of them by accident and was cut down. We were approaching a dead end with only a window. I shouted, "Quick, through the window" over the marching of boots. We smashed through the glass and fell onto a canopy below; we slid off it and looked up, the guild men were peering down at us.

The leader of the guild squad turned to another member and said, "Give them a two day head start". He stormed out of the room with purposeful authority, the young member looked puzzled but replied "yes, commander Tiberus" and hurried after him.

We had left all our armor and weapons behind and the inn was probably under watch by the guild. We only had money for food and shelter and that was running out fast. There had to be a way of getting some supplies and I thought I knew how.


	12. The Obsidian End Part 1

The great obsidian cathedral stood over the volcano's edge, with the great glass window looking into the lava. A single shadowy figure stood watching, waiting.

"Sir, they are approaching" a young boy said calmly. The figure turned round and nodded then walked to a volcanic diamond throne, he sat in it and put his knuckles to his mouth. An Enforcer's axe lay at the side of the throne menacingly. Thunder rolled across the sky making an almighty crack, the lightning followed, striking the metal spires.

We trekked up the volcano, avoiding mudslides created by the lava flow, it was hard to get a grip in the muddy soil but we managed. After three days the cathedral came into view, on the horizon. We stopped and marvelled as the thunder storm silhouetted the ominous building. Trees made of a white marble stood stark, a reminder of how emotionless this man really was.

Tiberus kneeled before the guild "I do apologise…master" he muttered reluctantly.

The guild master smiled, "You gave them a two day head start". Tiberus looked puzzled. "Who told you such a lie, my liege?" he asked. The guild masters smile grew even larger. "Tiberus, you always were a bad liar" he laughed. Tiberus was getting worried. "Anyway, Gorgan Tiberus you are charged with the highest form of treason against the Guild. The penalty 'regrettably' is execution". He grabbed his axe and kicked off his throne, flying forward through the air, the large sword went through his torso, crimson blood splashed against the marble floor. Tiberus uttered a groan and fell to the ground. The sword clattered away, sliding across the floor. Tiberus was dead.

We reached the ancient black oak cathedral doors and I pounded on them. A butler opened them and I said "knock knock" and put a bullet through his leg. He screamed in agony, writhing on the floor. "You bastard!" he cried. I shot him in the other leg, he screamed even more. "What was that for?!" I smiled sweetly at him, and pointed the gun to his head "say one more thing and it'll be through there next" and I tapped his forehead. He quietened down then, whimpering in cowardice.

"Bravo, bravo" a voice said, clapping. A figure walked down the steps, his silhouette intensified by the odd flashes of lightning. He walked down the steps and drew his own pistol; he shot the butler through the head. "You put on quite a show there, shame you won't be around for much longer". Alexandor stepped up and punched the figure in the chest with his Gravios arm, the guild master went flying. "Come on, let's find the armoury". Arran stopped and kicked the guild master in the gut.

Megan was the first to reach the armoury and a wry smile drew across her face. "Zak, I think you're going to like this" she said. I peeked over her shoulder and was astonished; mountains of weapons were piled up with armour lining the wall. I grabbed two revolvers and loaded them. Megan grabbed a smouldering dragonsword and walked over to the armour stand, she pulled out some ceanataur armour while I pulled out some Rathian armour. Arran found some Mizuha armour made from Chameleos materials and found a blessed ocarina. Alexandor found some Akantor armour and an Akantor kingsword. We were ready.

We walked down the path with purposeful steps that made a resounding click. We were kitted out now. We went back to the main hall but no one was there, the dead butler had been dragged away with all the blood gone as well. "Something is wrong" I said. A troop of guild knights came round the corner, their armour glinting in the dim light. "The pillars!" I cried as the team scattered and hid behind the four pillars. It kicked off then, the gunners opened fire on the pillar, the marble took the hits but chunks of the beautiful rock were ripped from the surface. I jumped out from the pillar, firing both revolvers and then slid along to the next pillar where Arran was standing. "Having fun?" I asked.

"It's never boring" he replied with a beaming smile on his face. I ran round to Alexandor, killing one of the guild knights on the way, the team were in full battle now, fighting with swords and fists. "Hey, how are things?" I asked shooting the knight he was fighting. "Umm, are we going to move on?" he asked back. A suicidal young knight ran up to me screaming. I shot him without even looking. "Yes" I said and walked up the stairs. I reloaded my guns and holstered them. "You three, deal with the soldiers, release any animals that are tethered". Megan looked at me worriedly "where are you going?" she asked, a caution in her voice. I turned to face her "I'm going to the throne room".


	13. The Obsidian End Part 2

I ran across the corridor, my boots rapping against the marble, the throne room was ahead and I could see the Guild master facing away from me. I saw Tiberus lying on the floor next to the doors, I kneeled beside him. He was long gone. The guild master turned round. "You see, your insolence costs lives". I looked up, the hate surging through me and I leapt for him, punching him across the face. He flew into the staircase and started to scramble up it.

Alexandor lead the other two down to the basement which led to the animal warehouse, the cramped conditions were disgusting as monsters and wyverns pressed against each other. Their distress turned into anger as the clawed at each other, making deep imprints. Alexandor kicked the bolt of the pen open and three hundred monsters rushed out. One monster didn't move. The Gravios.

_The swamps humidity was beginning to get to Alexandor, he staggered through the cornfield, tired. He was getting transferred to the volcano soon. Genprey seemed to avoid him as they knew what he was capable of. The scars along his face told the tale of a thousand victorious battles. He knew something was coming, but he ignored his tracker's sixth sense. A thundering noise shook the ground, throwing Alexandor across the field. The Genprey had climbed to higher ground, interested. Afraid._

_The Gravios was here._

I followed the guild master up to the roof, a genuine look of fear passed his face as I stormed after him. I wanted revenge, and he knew I was going to get it. He was trapped. I grabbed my pistol and shot the glass dome behind him, the glass shattered and he fell through landing on his diamond chair, his leg impaled on the left spire of the throne. I jumped down on him as he screamed in pain; I could hear the sound of his ribs and spine cracking. I stomped on his pelvis, inducing another scream and the crunch of bone. The throne buckled and then cracked as I stood up, he fell limply to the floor. I picked him up as he crawled away. I threw him through the glass window as he landed on the ledge. I picked him up and held him over the volcano, I was about to drop him before he said something I would never forget.

Megan grabbed Alexandor and shook him by the collar. He was frozen in terror. "Alexandor, we have to go" she cried. He was still rooted to the ground in fear. Megan grabbed his cheeks and pulled him towards her, they kissed passionately, bringing Alexandor round. They turned and ran out of the room, heading for the throne room.

_Alexandor turned round, seeing the colossal grey mass. It stood up and roared, making him cover his ears. He ran through the whispering corn, the wind was picking up. He realised that he couldn't escape, he was going to have to fight the Gravios. He pulled his Enforcer's axe and smashed it against the ground in an effort to scare it off. It almost seemed to mock him. Then it charged, Alexandor stuck his sword up and struck the rock, it bounced and made sparks. The Gravios turned round, crushing the ears of corn. It pounced on Alexandor as he dodged just in time. However, its claws scraped his arm, ripping the tendons, blood spurted out in a small stream as Alexandor screamed and fell to the ground rolling around in pain, He grabbed his Enforcer's axe and threw it through the beast's neck, it squealed in pain and fell to the ground, dead. Alexandor carved the beast's plate and stitched it to his arm, stemming the blood loss. He would have to leave this on for the rest of his life. _

"What?" I cried over the roar of the volcano. I couldn't believe what the guild master had just said. "Alexandor is my son" he groaned, the nerves were slowing down as he lost control of his speech. "Please tell him, I need him to know". I pulled him to my face and growled "you want me to tell Alexandor that he has a lying, tyrannical scumbag for a father?" a tear slipped from his eye, I released my grip a little as he whimpered "yes". I dropped him, not on purpose but in surprise. He fell without screaming and was engulfed by the lava. "Zak?" a voice asked, I turned round to see Lucy. She stuttered and fell to the ground, a knife in her back. I shot the knight who put there and ran over to Lucy. She was bleeding heavily as the dark liquid spread across the floor. "Lucy, no, no, no, come on Lucy, you can make it". Tears welled up in my eyes as they stung. "No I'm not" she whispered hoarsely. I started sobbing as she closed her eyes. I lay her back down and gave her the kiss of life, she returned it passionately and her eyes flickered open. "I think I might be able to make it" she smiled and I stood her up. The team rushed in and saw me and Lucy. Alexandor asked "where is the guild master". I turned to face him as doubt crossed my mind. "he's gone" I said as we walked out of the cathedral to see the sun rising on another day.

TITANIUM TITANS WILL RETURN IN:

TITANIUM TITANS:UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS


	14. Thank You

THANKYOUS

Thank you to Sam Aitken for 'motivating' me and giving his all important ideas.

Thank you to my first readers Arran Gouge and Megan Lees

Thank you to YOU my continuing readers, it's been a long journey

Look out for my related stories:

volFring

Titanium Titans: Under cover of darkness


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